Page 306 of Fated Mates of Breeder Prison

The deadline would be the moment the sun rose.

Then, I would be trapped with no chance of escape.

A shout issued from one of the other rooms.

Maybe it was one of the guards on duty, I thought. I lowered my head and returned to considering my situation.

Another voice shouted in the dark.

It was loud, frantic.

The translator chip in my arm couldn’t understand it.

For once, I understood the sound from the alien’s throat better than the device did.

It sent a shiver up my spine and chilled me to the bone.

The scream was one of fear and pain.

I didn’t need to know what the word was.

I didn’t want to know what it was.

It couldn’t be anything good.

Then another shout rang out, louder this time, closer, from a different throat.

Men burst from the neighboring rooms, boots scuffing the soft sand outside.

Should I go out there?

Did I even want to see what was causing the commotion?

I moved to the front to peer through the slit when a helmet slipped inside.

“Ah!” I said, starting back.

“You must leave now,” the guard said, voice hissing via his communicator. “You must leave now.”

He reached for me and I pulled back.

The guard stretched inside further, and then stopped, unable to come any closer.

He shuddered and paused for a moment.

He glanced over his shoulder and then turned back to look at me.

Although I couldn’t see his expression, I knew terror when I saw it.

He shot back, quick as a flash, into the darkness beyond.

The flap waved gently, disturbed by his rapid departure.

He hadn’t chosen to leave.

Something had forced him to leave.

I swallowed and gingerly pressed the fabric aside.

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